If "owning" a bankrupt auto company is "statism" I guess we're guilty. If appointing executives to manage failed financial institutions is "statism," there we go again.

These are highly speculative rants, resurrected by some who believe that "others" have surreptitiously co-opted our government structure. But, due to whom? Why, due to "militant atheists," unions, "eco-extremists," which have spent fortunes on lobbyists to influence lawmakers on their behalf. For some reason, these organizations are trying to destroy the country.

In trying to alleviate the financial crisis, disagreements about the right course were bound to surface, and probably will continue. Even Alan Greenspan had to admit that he was shocked by the failure of free market capitalism to discover, capture and detoxify financial assets carelessly strewn about with so little concern for safety or accountability.

Of course there is concern about trillions of dollars of debt. But how about the $1.4 trillion tax cut for the super-rich courtesy of President Bush? Or the tragic, misguided military adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan to the tune of nearly $2 trillion? That would buy a lot of health care and put Social Security and Medicare on a firm foundation for decades to come.

While we're at it, how about some concern for the middle-class wage earners who have seen their wages stagnate for the past 30 years, actually losing purchasing power if inflation is considered?

We still have ballot boxes. Suspicion and skepticism has its place, but misguided thrusts at trying to de-legitimize the government are destructive and nonproductive.